Transistor with doped gate dielectric

ABSTRACT

A transistor and method of manufacture thereof. A semiconductor workpiece is doped before depositing a gate dielectric material. Using a separate anneal process or during subsequent anneal processes used to manufacture the transistor, dopant species from the doped region of the workpiece are outdiffused into the gate dielectric, creating a doped gate dielectric. The dopant species fill vacancies in the atomic structure of the gate dielectric, resulting in a transistor having increased speed, reduced power consumption, and improved voltage stability.

This application is a divisional of patent application Ser. No.10/771,075, entitled “Transistor With Doped Gate Dielectric,” filed onFeb. 3, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,002,224, which application isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices, andmore particularly to a method of fabricating a transistor and astructure thereof.

BACKGROUND

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications,such as personal computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and otherelectronic equipment, as examples. A transistor is an element that isutilized extensively in semiconductor devices. There may be millions oftransistors on a single integrated circuit (IC), for example. A commontype of transistor used in semiconductor device fabrication is a metaloxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET).

The gate dielectric for MOSFET devices has in the past typicallycomprised silicon dioxide. However, as devices are scaled down in size,silicon dioxide becomes a problem because of gate leakage current, whichcan degrade device performance. Therefore, there is a trend in theindustry towards the development of the use of high dielectric constant(k) materials (e.g., having a dielectric constant of 3.9 or greater, forexample) for use as the gate dielectric in MOSFET devices.

High k gate dielectric development has been identified as one of thegrand challenges in the 2003 edition of International Technology Roadmapfor Semiconductor (ITRS), incorporated herein by reference, whichidentifies the technological challenges and needs facing thesemiconductor industry over the next 15 years. For low power logic (forportable electronic applications, for example), the main issue is lowleakage current, which is necessary in order to extend battery life.Device performance is then maximized according to the low leakagecurrent requirements. Gate leakage current must be controlled in lowpower applications, as well as sub-threshold leakage, junction leakage,and band-to-band tunneling.

To fully realize the benefits of transistor scaling, the gate oxidethickness needs to be scaled down to less than 2 nm. However, theresulting gate leakage currents make the use of such thin oxidesimpractical in many device applications where low standby powerconsumption is required. For this reason, gate oxide dielectric materialwill eventually be replaced by an alternative dielectric material thathas a higher dielectric constant. However, the device performance ofusing high k dielectric materials suffers from trapped charge in thedielectric layer which deteriorates the mobility, making the drivecurrent lower than in transistors having silicon dioxide gate oxides,and hence reducing the speed and performance of transistors having highk gate dielectric materials.

One proposed method of manufacturing a transistor is to introducedopants into a top surface of a gate dielectric after depositing a gatedielectric material. See Inumiya, S., et al., “Fabrication of HfSiONGate Dielectrics by Plasma Oxidation and Nitridation, Optimized for 65nm node Low Power CMOS Applications,” 2003 Symposium on VLSI TechnologyDigest of Technical Papers, pp. 18-19, Document No. 4-89114-035-6/03,which is incorporated herein by reference. In this method, nitrogen isintroduced on top of a high k gate dielectric using plasma in order todirectly nitridize the gate dielectric material. While this methodprovides increased hole mobility, it requires plasma processes which canbe difficult to work with and may cause damage to the devicesmanufactured, as well as requiring an additional tool for the plasmaprocessing.

Therefore, what is needed in the art is a transistor design andfabrication method having a high k gate dielectric material withincreased speed and improved performance, that is compatible withsemiconductor device manufacturing processes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other problems are generally solved or circumvented, andtechnical advantages are generally achieved, by preferred embodiments ofthe present invention which comprise a transistor having a doped gatedielectric, which reduces the leakage current pathways, creating afaster transistor. A semiconductor workpiece is doped before depositinga gate dielectric material. Using a separate anneal process or duringsubsequent anneal processes used to manufacture the transistor, dopantspecies from the doped region of the workpiece are diffused into thegate dielectric, creating a doped gate dielectric. The dopant speciesfill vacancies in the atomic structure of the gate dielectric, resultingin a transistor having increased speed, reduced power consumption, andimproved voltage stability.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, atransistor includes a workpiece, a doped region disposed in theworkpiece, the doped region including a dopant species, and a doped gatedielectric disposed over the doped region of the workpiece, the dopedgate dielectric including the dopant species. A gate is disposed overthe gate dielectric, and a source region and a drain region are formedin at least the doped region of the workpiece, wherein the sourceregion, drain region, gate, and doped gate dielectric comprise atransistor.

In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, a method of fabricating a transistor includes providing aworkpiece, introducing a dopant species into the workpiece to form adoped region in the workpiece, and depositing a gate dielectric materialover the doped region of the workpiece. A gate material is depositedover the gate dielectric material, the gate material and gate dielectricmaterial are patterned to form a gate and a gate dielectric over thedoped region of the workpiece, and the dopant species are transferredfrom the workpiece to the gate dielectric material to form a doped gatedielectric material. A source region and a drain region are formed in atleast the doped region of the workpiece, wherein the source region,drain region, gate, and doped gate dielectric comprise a transistor.

Advantages of the preferred embodiments of the present invention includeproviding a transistor design and manufacturing method thereof whereinthe electrical performance of the transistor is improved. The transistorhas increased speed, improved voltage stability, and increased electronand hole mobility. The dopant species fill vacancies in the gatedielectric, removing defects in the gate dielectric material,eliminating leakage paths and improving the transistor's performance.The gate dielectric is doped using processes that are compatible withsemiconductor device manufacturing process flows, and that are easilyimplemented into existing manufacturing process flows.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of embodiments of the present invention in order that thedetailed description of the invention that follows may be betterunderstood. Additional features and advantages of embodiments of theinvention will be described hereinafter, which form the subject of theclaims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that the conception and specific embodiments disclosed may bereadily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structuresor processes for carrying out the same purposes of the presentinvention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art thatsuch equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as set forth in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a prior art transistor;

FIG. 2 shows a more detailed view of the gate dielectric material of thetransistor shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 through 7 show cross-sectional views of a transistor at variousstages of manufacturing in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, wherein the workpiece is doped with a dopant speciesbefore depositing a gate dielectric material;

FIG. 8 shows a more detailed view of the doped gate dielectric materialshown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of a transistor fabricated inaccordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generallyrefer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures aredrawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the preferredembodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The making and using of the presently preferred embodiments arediscussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that thepresent invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that canbe embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to makeand use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention.

The present invention will be described with respect to preferredembodiments in a specific context, namely a transistor formed on asemiconductor device. The invention may also be applied, however, toMOSFETs or other transistor devices, and may include PMOS, NMOS, or CMOSdevices, as examples. Only one transistor is shown in each of thefigures; however, there may be many transistors formed on thesemiconductor devices shown.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a prior art transistor 100 formedover a workpiece 102. After shallow trench isolation (STI) regions 104are formed within the workpiece 102, a gate dielectric material 108 isdeposited over the workpiece 102 and STI regions 104. A gate material110 is deposited over the gate dielectric material 108. The gatematerial 110 and gate dielectric material 108 are patterned usingtraditional lithography techniques to form a gate 110 and gatedielectric 108, as shown. A source region S and a drain region D aretypically formed after the gate 110 and gate dielectric 108 arepatterned. A channel region 105 resides beneath the gate 110 and gatedielectric 108, as shown.

FIG. 2 shows a more detailed view of the gate dielectric 108 shown inFIG. 1. When the gate dielectric 108 comprises a high k dielectricmaterial, as is the trend in the semiconductor industry, vacancies 107may form during the deposition of the gate dielectric material 108.Hafnium dioxide (HfO₂) in particular has a tendency to form manyvacancies, for example, in effect having a chemical formula of aboutHfO_(1.95), for example. The oxygen vacancies 107 are dispersedthroughout the atomic structure of the gate dielectric 108, between theatoms 106 of the gate dielectric material 108. The vacancies 107 createcharge-trapping locations, which are defects in the gate dielectric 108that provide a path for leakage current from the gate 110 to the channelregion 105 of the transistor 100. Leakage current slows down thetransistor 100 response, decreasing mobility, and causing devicefailures.

Therefore, what is needed in the art is a method and structure thatreduces or eliminates vacancies 107 formed in gate dielectric materials108 in the manufacturing process of transistors 100.

Embodiments of the present invention achieve technical advantages byreducing or eliminating these vacancies 107 by introducing dopantspecies into the workpiece which later out-diffuses into the gatedielectric material. FIGS. 3 through 7 show cross-sectional views of apreferred embodiment of the present invention at various stages ofmanufacturing. Referring first to FIG. 3, a semiconductor device 200comprises a workpiece 202. The workpiece 202 may include a semiconductorsubstrate comprising silicon or other semiconductor materials covered byan insulating layer, for example. The workpiece 202 may also includeother active components or circuits, not shown. The workpiece 202 maycomprise silicon oxide over single-crystal silicon, for example. Theworkpiece 202 may include other conductive layers or other semiconductorelements, e.g., transistors, diodes, etc. Compound semiconductors, GaAs,InP, Si/Ge, or SiC, as examples, may be used in place of silicon. Theworkpiece 202 may also comprise a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate,for example.

Isolation regions 204 may be formed in various locations on theworkpiece 202, as shown. The isolation regions 204 may comprise STIregions that are disposed on either side of a channel region 205 (seeFIG. 7) of a transistor device 200, for example. The isolation regions204 may be formed by depositing a photoresist over the workpiece 202,not shown. The photoresist may be patterned using lithographytechniques, and the photoresist may be used as a mask while theworkpiece 202 is etched to form holes or patterns for the isolationregions 204 in a top surface of the workpiece 202. An insulator such asan oxide, for example, may be deposited over the workpiece 202 to fillthe patterns, forming isolation regions 204. Alternatively, theisolation regions 204 may be formed by other methods, for example. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, the isolationregions 204 may be formed either before or after the workpiece 202 topsurface is doped, for example.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, adopant species 214 is introduced into the top surface of the workpiece202 to form a doped region 216, as shown in FIG. 4. The dopant species214 comprises at least one Group V, VI or VII element of the chemicalperiodic table, in a preferred embodiment. In another embodiment, thedopant species 214 preferably comprises nitrogen and/or fluorine. Thedopant species 214 are preferably introduced into the workpiece 202 byion implantation. Introducing the dopant species 214 preferablycomprises implanting the ions of the dopant species 214 at an energylevel of about 5 KeV or less, at an implantation dose in the order ofabout 1×10¹⁴ to 1×10¹⁵ ions/cm², as examples. The depth of theimplantation of the dopant species 214 depends on the energy level ofthe implantation step. Preferably, the implantation depth of the dopantspecies 214 into the workpiece 202 top surface is the smallest depthpossible, so that the dopant species 214 will easily outdiffuse into thesubsequently deposited gate dielectric, to be described further herein.

The dopant species 214 may be driven in using an additional anneal stepafter the deposition of the gate dielectric material, as shown in FIG.6, or by subsequent anneal steps that are used to fabricate thetransistor 200 or other devices or elements on the workpiece 202, suchas an implantation step to drive in dopants to form a source and drain(to be described further herein; see FIG. 7). The doped region 216 ofthe workpiece 202 preferably comprises a thickness of about 100 Å orless, for example. The doped region 216 may alternatively comprise otherthicknesses. Note that a top portion of the isolation regions 204 mayalso be doped with the dopant species 214 during the introduction of thedopant species 214 into the workpiece 202, not shown.

Referring again to FIG. 3, before introducing the dopant species 214 tothe workpiece 202 top surface, a thin insulating layer 212 may be formedover the top surface of the workpiece 202 and the isolation regions 204,as shown. The thin insulating layer 212 is optional and is not requiredfor embodiments of the present invention. The optional thin insulatinglayer 212 preferably comprises an oxide such as silicon dioxide orsilicon oxynitride, as examples. The thin insulating layer mayalternatively comprise other insulators, such as nitrides, for example.The optional thin insulating layer 212 is preferably deposited in athickness of about 100 Å or less, as an example.

The optional thin insulating layer 212 is advantageous because itprovides protection for the top surface of the workpiece 202 during theimplantation of the dopant species 214. For example, physical damagesuch as pitting or chipping may be caused to the top surface of theworkpiece 202 when the dopant species 214 are introduced. Such physicaldamage in the channel region 205 (se FIG. 7) can degrade the performanceof the transistor 200. For example, at implantation energy levels of 5KeV or greater, preferably the thin insulating layer 212 is used, sothat the sacrificial thin insulating layer 212 top surface is damagedrather than the top surface of the workpiece 202 in the channel region205. Therefore, the optional thin insulating layer 212 functions as asacrificial insulating layer, which may later be partially or completelyremoved, to be described further herein.

Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the dopantspecies 214 pass through the optional thin insulating layer 212 to forma doped region 216 at a top surface of the workpiece 202, as shown inFIG. 4. Preferably, at least a portion of the optional thin insulatinglayer 212 is stripped or removed after the implantation of the dopantspecies 214 into the workpiece 202 top surface, as shown in FIG. 5.Preferably, in one embodiment, the remaining optional thin insulatinglayer 212 residing over the workpiece 202 and isolation regions 204comprises a thickness of about one nanolayer of oxide, or about 10 Å orless. In another preferred embodiment, all of the optional thininsulating layer 212 may be removed, or the thin insulating layer 212may not be used at all, as shown in FIG. 9. The thin insulating layer212 may be stripped using a hydrofluoric acid (HF) dip or otherchemistries and removal processes, as examples.

After all or part of the optional thin insulating layer 212 is stripped(if used), the workpiece 202 is cleaned, often referred to in the art asa “pre-gate treatment”. As examples, the pre-gate treatment may comprisean HF dip followed by an ammonia anneal, an HF dip followed by ozonecleaning, or an HF dip followed by an ozone cleaning and a subsequentammonia anneal. Alternatively, the workpiece 202 may be exposed to othertypes of pre-gate treatments, for example.

A gate dielectric material 208 is deposited over the thin insulatinglayer 212, as shown in FIG. 6, or over the top surface of the dopedregion 216 of the workpiece 202 and isolation region 204, if the thininsulating layer 212 is not used. The gate dielectric material 208preferably comprises a thickness of about 50 Å or less, and preferablycomprises an insulating material such as a high k dielectric material.The gate dielectric material may alternatively comprise other insulatingmaterials, such as an oxide, for example. In one embodiment, the gatedielectric material 208 preferably comprises Si₃N₄, Al₂O₃, Ta₂O₅, HfO₂,TiO₂, HfSiO_(x), ZrO₂, or ZrSiO_(x), as examples. The gate dielectricmaterial 208 may be deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemicalvapor deposition (CVD), or metal oxide CVD (MOCVD), as examples,although alternatively, other deposition methods may be used.

The workpiece 202 may then optionally be subjected to a post-depositionanneal, particularly if the gate dielectric material 208 comprises ahigh k dielectric material, for example. The post-deposition anneal maycomprise an anneal at about 700° C. The post-deposition anneal may ormay not be at a high enough temperature to cause the diffusion of thedopant species 214 into the gate dielectric material 208. Thepost-deposition anneal may be adapted to reduce the number of thermalcycles required to manufacture the transistor 200, for example.

Next, a gate material 210 is deposited over the unpatterned gatedielectric material 208, as shown in FIG. 6. The gate material 210preferably comprises a conductor such as a semiconductor material or ametal, in one embodiment. For example, the gate material 210 maycomprise TiN, HfN, TaN, a fully silicided gate material (FUSI), or othermetals, as examples. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the gatematerial 210 may comprise polysilicon or other semiconductor materials.

The gate material 210 and the gate dielectric material 208 are patternedto form a gate 210 and gate dielectric 208, as shown in FIG. 7. The gatematerial 210 and gate dielectric material 208 may be patterned usingtraditional lithography techniques, by depositing a photoresist,patterning the photoresist, and using the photoresist as a mask topattern the gate material 210 and gate dielectric material 208, notshown, for example. Alternatively, the gate material 210 and gatedielectric material 208 may be directly etched or may be patterned usingother methods, for example.

A source region S and drain region D are then formed proximate thechannel region 205. More particularly, the source region S and the drainregion D are preferably formed in at least the doped region 216 of theworkpiece 202, as shown. Note that in this embodiment, portions of thesource region S and drain region D are also formed in a top portion ofthe workpiece 202 that is undoped. The source region S and drain regionD may be formed using an extension implant, which may compriseimplanting dopants using a low energy implant at about 200 eV to 1 KeV,for example. The workpiece 202 may then be annealed to drive in thesource S and drain D dopants. For example, the workpiece 202 may beheated to about 1000° C. for about 10 seconds, to activate the sourceand drain implant.

In one embodiment, the anneal process to form the source region S andthe drain region D also causes the outdiffusion of the dopant species214 in the doped region 216 of the workpiece 202 through the optionalthin insulating layer 212 and into the gate dielectric 208 to form adoped gate dielectric 218. This embodiment of the present invention isadvantageous because an additional anneal step is not required, savingmanufacturing cost and time. However, in other embodiments,alternatively, the workpiece 202 may be annealed at any time after thegate dielectric material 208 is deposited. For example, the workpiece202 may be annealed immediately after the gate dielectric material 208is deposited, after the gate material 210 is deposited, or after thegate material 210 and/or gate dielectric material 208 are patterned. InFIGS. 6 and 7, the gate dielectric is indicated by reference number208/218, wherein 208 is representative of the gate dielectric in anundoped state, e.g., before annealing, and wherein 218 is representativeof the gate dielectric in a doped state, e.g., after an anneal process.

The anneal process to cause a portion of the dopant species 214 totransfer or outdiffuse from the doped region 216 of the workpiece 202 tothe gate dielectric 208, forming doped gate dielectric 218, preferablycomprises a temperature of about 900 to 1050° C., as examples. Theanneal process to transfer the dopant species from the doped region 216to the gate dielectric 208 may comprise a rapid thermal anneal (RTA) ora spike anneal, as examples.

A more detailed view of the doped gate dielectric 218 of FIG. 7 is shownin FIG. 8. Atoms of the dopant species 214 fill vacancies between atoms206 of the atomic structure of the gate dielectric material 208 (ofFIGS. 6 and 7, for example), as shown. This is advantageous becausedefects in the gate dielectric material 208 are eliminated. For example,the dopant species 214 atoms eliminate paths for leakage current fromthe gate 210 into the channel region 205 of the transistor 200.

A spacer material such as silicon nitride or other insulator, asexamples, may then be deposited over the entire workpiece 202, and thespacer material may be etched using an etch process such as ananisotropic etch, leaving spacers adjacent sidewalls of the gate 210,doped gate dielectric 218, and optional thin insulating layer 212 (notshown). Alternatively, the spacers may be patterned using a photoresistas a mask, as an example, not shown. To complete the extension implantof the source region S and drain region D, a second dopant implantationprocess may then be performed, preferably using a high energyimplantation process. For example, the second implantation process maybe at about 5 KeV to 20 KeV. A high temperature anneal may then beperformed to drive in and activate the dopant of the source and drainregions S and D. Again, the gate dielectric 208 may be doped bydiffusion of the dopant species 214 from the doped region 216 duringsuch subsequent anneals to form the doped gate dielectric 218, ratherthan requiring an additional anneal step in the manufacturing processflow sequence.

Doping the top surface of the workpiece 202 and transferring the dopantspecies to the gate dielectric 208 to form a doped gate dielectric 218in accordance with embodiments of the present invention as describedherein are also advantageous and have application in “gate last”procedures used to manufacture transistors. In a “gate last” procedure,a dummy gate material (not shown) is deposited over the workpiece 202 orthin insulating layer 212 (see FIG. 7), and the dummy gate material ispatterned in the shape of a gate that will later be formed from a gatematerial. The dummy gate material may comprise about 1000 Å or less ofan oxide or a nitride, for example. The same lithography mask may beused to pattern the dummy gate material and the actual gate material210, for example. Source and drain implant and anneal procedures arethen performed to form source S and drain D regions in the workpiece202, wherein the dummy gate material protects the workpiece 202 beneaththe dummy gate material during the implantation step. Then the dummygate material is stripped or removed. A gate dielectric material 208 isthen deposited over the workpiece 202, and a gate material 210 isdeposited over the gate dielectric 208. The gate material 210 and gatedielectric material 208 are patterned to form a gate 210 and a gatedielectric 208. In this embodiment, the doped region 216 may be formedin the top surface of the workpiece 202 either after or before thesource S and drain D regions are formed. For example, the doped regionmay be formed in the top surface of the workpiece 202 after the dummygate material is removed. Again, as previously described herein, thedopant species 214 of the doped region 216 may be transferred to thegate dielectric 208 to form a doped gate dielectric 218 using aseparate, additional anneal step, or during other anneal processes usedto fabricate the transistor 200.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the presentinvention, wherein a thin insulating layer (such as layer 212 in FIG. 4)is not used, or wherein the thin insulating layer 212 is completelyremoved before depositing a gate dielectric material 308/318. Similarreference numbers are designated for the various elements as were usedin FIGS. 3 through 7. To avoid repetition, each reference number shownin the diagram is not described in detail herein. Rather, similarmaterials x02, x04, x05, etc . . . are preferably used for the materiallayers shown as were described for FIGS. 3 through 7, where x=2 in FIGS.3 through 7 and x=3 in FIG. 9. As an example, the preferred andalternative materials listed for gate dielectric material 208 in thedescription for FIGS. 3 through 7 are preferably also used for gatedielectric material 308 in FIG. 3.

Advantages of the preferred embodiments of the present invention includeproviding a transistor 200, 300 design and manufacturing method thereof,wherein the electrical performance of the transistor 200, 300 isimproved. The transistor 200, 300 has increased speed, improved voltagestability, and increased electron and hole mobility. The dopant species214 such as N, F or both N and F, fill vacancies in the gate dielectric218/318, removing defects in the gate dielectric material 208/308,eliminating charge-trapping and leakage paths, and improving thetransistor 200, 300 performance. The gate dielectric 208/308 is dopedusing processes that are compatible with semiconductor devicemanufacturing process flows, and that are easily implemented intoexisting manufacturing process flows. For example, in one embodiment, anadditional anneal step is not required, and the dopant species 214 isoutdiffused from the workpiece 202 into the gate dielectric 218 duringanneal processes for other devices or elements of the workpiece 202.Additional tools are not required by embodiments of the presentinvention. Embodiments of the present invention may be used in “gatefirst” or “gate last” manufacturing processes, and may be used in themanufacture of transistors having both high k dielectrics and/or oxidedielectrics.

Although embodiments of the present invention and their advantages havebeen described in detail, it should be understood that various changes,substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.For example, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the artthat many of the features, functions, processes, and materials describedherein may be varied while remaining within the scope of the presentinvention. Moreover, the scope of the present application is notintended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process,machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and stepsdescribed in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art willreadily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention,processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means,methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed, thatperform substantially the same function or achieve substantially thesame result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may beutilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appendedclaims are intended to include within their scope such processes,machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

1. A method of fabricating a transistor, the method comprising:introducing a dopant species into a semiconductor body to form a dopedregion in the semiconductor body; depositing a gate dielectric materialover the doped region in the semiconductor body; depositing a gatematerial over the gate dielectric material; patterning the gate materialand the gate dielectric material to form a gate and a gate dielectricover the doped region in the semiconductor body; transferring the dopantspecies from the semiconductor body to the gate dielectric to form adoped gate dielectric, wherein the dopant species is transferredthroughout the gate dielectric; and forming a source region and a drainregion in at least the doped region of the semiconductor body, whereinthe source region, the drain region, the gate, and the doped gatedielectric comprise a transistor.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein introducing the dopant species comprises introducing at leastone dopant species comprising a Group V, VI or VII element into thesemiconductor body.
 3. The method according to claim 2, whereinintroducing the dopant species into the semiconductor body to form thedoped region includes introducing nitrogen into the semiconductor body.4. The method according to claim 2, wherein introducing the dopantspecies into the semiconductor body to form the doped region includesintroducing fluorine into the semiconductor body.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein introducing the dopant species comprisesimplanting ions of the dopant species at an energy level of about 5 KeVor less.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein introducing thedopant species comprises implanting ions of the dopant species at animplantation dose of about 1×10¹⁴ to 1×10¹⁵ ions/cm².
 7. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein transferring the dopant species from thesemiconductor body to the gate dielectric comprises performing an annealprocess.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the anneal processcomprises a temperature of about 900 to 1050 ° C.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the anneal process comprises a spikeanneal process or a rapid thermal anneal (RTA) process.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the anneal process comprises an annealprocess to form the source region and the drain region.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the anneal process comprises a separateanneal process, the separate anneal process being performed afterdepositing the gate dielectric material, after depositing the gatematerial, or after patterning the gate material and the gate dielectricmaterial.
 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein introducing thedopant species into the semiconductor body to form the doped regioncomprises forming a doped region having a thickness of about 100 Å orless.
 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein depositing the gatedielectric material comprises depositing a high k dielectric material,and wherein depositing the gate material comprises depositing a metal.14. The method according to claim 1, wherein depositing the gatedielectric material comprises depositing about 50 Å or less of Si₃N₄,Al₂O₃, Ta₂O₅, HfO₂, TiO₂, HfSiO_(x), ZrO₂, or ZrSiO_(x).
 15. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein depositing the gate dielectric materialcomprises atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemical vapor deposition(CVD), or metal oxide CVD (MOCVD).
 16. The method according to claim 1,further comprising forming an insulating layer over the semiconductorbody, before introducing the dopant species into the semiconductor bodyto form the doped region, wherein forming the insulating layer comprisesdepositing an insulating layer having a thickness of about 100 Å orless.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein forming theinsulating layer comprises depositing silicon dioxide or siliconoxynitride.
 18. The method according to claim 16, further comprisingremoving at least a portion of the insulating layer, after introducingthe dopant species into the semiconductor body to form the doped region.19. The method according to claim 18, wherein removing at least aportion of the insulating layer comprises removing all of the insulatinglayer.
 20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductorbody comprises a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer.
 21. A method offabricating a transistor, the method comprising: introducing a dopantspecies into a semiconductor body to form a doped region in thesemiconductor body; depositing a gate dielectric material over the dopedregion in the semiconductor body; depositing a gate material over thegate dielectric material; patterning the gate material and the gatedielectric material to form a gate and a gate dielectric over the dopedregion in the semiconductor body; transferring the dopant species fromthe semiconductor body to the gate dielectric to form a doped gatedielectric; and forming a source region and a drain region in at leastthe doped region of the semiconductor body, wherein the source region,the drain region, the gate, and the doped gate dielectric comprise atransistor, wherein depositing the gate dielectric material comprisesforming vacancies in the atomic structure of the gate dielectricmaterial, and wherein transferring the dopant species from thesemiconductor body to the gate dielectric comprises filling thevacancies of the gate dielectric material.
 22. A method of fabricating atransistor, the method comprising: forming an insulating layer over asemiconductor body, wherein forming the insulating layer comprisesdepositing an insulating layer having a thickness of about 100 Å or lessafter forming the insulating layer, introducing a dopant species intothe semiconductor body to form a doped region in the semiconductor body;removing at least a portion of the insulating layer, after introducingthe dopant species into the semiconductor body to form the doped region,wherein about 10 Å or less of the insulating layer remains over thedoped region in the semiconductor body, after removing at least theportion of the insulating layer; depositing a gate dielectric materialover the doped region in the semiconductor body; depositing a gatematerial over the gate dielectric material; patterning the gate materialand the gate dielectric material to form a gate and a gate dielectricover the doped region in the semiconductor body; transferring the dopantspecies from the semiconductor body to the gate dielectric to form adoped gate dielectric; and forming a source region and a drain region inat least the doped region of the semiconductor body, wherein the sourceregion, the drain region, the gate, and the doped gate dielectriccomprise a transistor.
 23. A method of fabricating a transistor, themethod comprising: introducing a dopant species into a semiconductorbody to form a doped region in the semiconductor body; depositing adummy gate material over the semiconductor body; patterning the dummygate material to form a dummy gate; forming a source region and a drainregion in the semiconductor body; removing the dummy gate material;after removing the dummy gate material, depositing a gate dielectricmaterial over the doped region in the semiconductor body; depositing agate material over the gate dielectric material; patterning the gatematerial and the gate dielectric material to form a gate and a gatedielectric over the doped region in the semiconductor body; andtransferring the dopant species from the semiconductor body to the gatedielectric to form a doped gate dielectric, wherein the source region,the drain region, the gate, and the doped gate dielectric comprise atransistor.
 24. The method according to claim 23, wherein introducingthe dopant species into the semiconductor body to form the doped regionis performed before forming the source region and the drain region. 25.The method according to claim 23, wherein introducing the dopant speciesinto the semiconductor body to form the doped region is performed afterforming the source region and the drain region.
 26. A method offabricating a transistor, the method comprising: introducing a dopantspecies into a semiconductor body to form a doped region in thesemiconductor body; depositing a gate dielectric material over the dopedregion in the semiconductor body, wherein depositing the gate dielectricmaterial comprises forming vacancies in the atomic structure of the gatedielectric material; and transferring the dopant species from thesemiconductor body to the gate dielectric material to form a doped gatedielectric material, wherein transferring the dopant species from thesemiconductor body to the gate dielectric material comprises filling thevacancies in the atomic structure of the gate dielectric material.